Wire-fabric bed-bottom.



R. BRADSHAW.

WIRE FABRIC BED BOTTOM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. I916.

Patented May 21,1918.

mwmao RICHARD BRADSHAW, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

WIRE-FABRIC BED-BOTTOM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Application filed May 20, 1916. Serial No. 98,743.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD BRADSHAW, a citizen of Canada, residing at Montreal, Province of Quebec, and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-Fabric Bed-Bottoms,

of which the following is a'specification.

Bed bottoms in which a wire fabric is stretched across a suitable supporting frame and held sufliciently taut to support the occupant of the bed Without the use of under lying coiled springs, are, and have been for a number of years, very largely in vogue. So-called woven wire fabrics, by reason of the fact that they are made of a multiplicity of comparatively fine coiled strands, have presented a difficult problem as to the means for reliably and economically securing the end margins of the fabric to the frame members which support them. It is essential that all of the strands be reliably attached, since otherwise those which areun attached pull out under the great stress to which'the fabric issubjected, thus destroying the integrity of the fabric and presenting prongs and free ends, which are ruinous to the fabric of the mattress. The expedient has been resorted to of inclosing the end margins of the fabric in sheet metal binding strips and then securing the binding strips to the frame members by links, wire ties or the like. This expedient has been in a measure successful, but expensive, comparatively crude, and generally unsightly. The present invention, while employing a binding strip'formed to embrace the edge of the fabric, enables this binding strip to be much more simply and economically formed and applied, and entirely dispenses with the links, ties and other expedients heretofore employed for attaching the binding strip to the supporting frame members. 7

In the preferred form or embodiment of my invention I employ a binding strip of sheet metal, usually sheet iron, about three times the width of the proposed finished binding; I place the edge of the wire fabric upon this strip of sheet metal in such position that the wire fabric overlaps about twothirds of the width of the binding strip and then fold the remaining third of the binding strip back upon itself and upon so much of the wire fabric as it will cover. I then fold the binding and wire fabric approximately along the turned back edge of the binding strip and thus produce a three-ply binding inclosing both surfaces of the wire fabric and having the wire fabric. folded back upon itself and interlocked with the innermost fold of the binding strip. Of course, each of these folds described is pressed down as compactly as possible as it is formed so that the binding strip in its final folded condition will be comparatively thin and the several plies thereof, including the inclosed wire fabric, comparatively compact. Neverthe less the hard resilient wires of the fabric will prevent the binding from taking anything like a solid or fully compacted condition, and in this connection it is to be observed that the compression employed in not be of such character as to break the wires along the line where the fabric is folded back. 7

Having thus formed and applied the binding, I then proceed to weld the binding strip to the surface of a suitable metal strip or bar constituting a part of thesupporting frame structure of the bed bottom. Preferably I employ an angle iron for such supporting frame. strip or bar and preferably weld the binding to the under side of the horizontally disposed upper web of the angle iron. I weld the binding to the surface of the angle iron by the process known as spot welding, but the spot welding is performed, and must be performed, in such manner that all three plies of the binding and as well also the infolded fabric wires shall be fused together and become integral withthe angle iron flange at the several welded spots. To effect such spot welding under the conditions described, I have found it necessary to employ as one of the electrodes ;that one which is brought into bearing with the binding,an electrode of moderate size and applied with such mechanical pressure as will very promptly compress the parts of the binding and fabric folding the binding and inclosed fabric must the welding may be so performed as to produce a continuously welded line extending longitudinally of the binding. Such a consupporting bar, but in practice I- have found this unnecessary.

Referring to the drawing- Figure 1 shows a worms eye perspective view of the under side of a portion of a bed bottom embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal cross section of an end portion of the bed bottom, taken on line 22 of Fig. 4; the section being taken at a point between the welded spots;

Fig. 3 is a view like Fig. 2, taken on line 33 of Fig. 4, through one of the welde spots;

Fig. 1 is an undersized plan View of a fragmentary portion of the fabric applied to the supporting angle bar;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing how the electrodes are applied in doing the spot welding and showing the ordinary arrangement of circuits.

' Referring to the drawing, 1, 1, designate the two supporting bars, preferably and as shown angle bars, which form the head and foot .ends' of the fabric support, :and are themselves supported by longitudinal side bars 3 (of which only one is shown), having at their .ends brackets 4 to which the angle bars are adjustably bolted, as indicated at .5.

6 designates asa whole the binding, applied to the woven wire fabric 7. As-best shown in Fig. 2, the binding strip is folded upon itself to form three-plies designated 6, 6". and 6", respectively. The margin of the woven fabric is folded back upon itself and over the edge of the ply 6, and is in turn inclosed and compressed between the plies 6" and 6". of the binding.

The binding may be applied to any .suitable surface of the supporting frame member, but preferably and as'shown is applied to the under surface of the angle iron, thus preventing :the bedding from coming in contact with the binding at all. Preferably also the bound fabric is so applied thatthe exposed edge 8 .of the binding. lies next to thesupporting bar and is therefore fully concealed in the finished bed bottom.

00pm o! thll patent my be obtained for Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and" 4, the spot welded'points are designated 9, and, as will best be seen lay-reference to Fig. 3, the three plies of the binding and the interfolded strands of the wire fabric are fused together into integral union with the web of f the angle bar. As best shown inv Figs. 1 and able pressure during the welding operation, for the purpose hereinbefore described; the mechanical means of applying pressure to The point of the electrode 11 is. forced against the binding with considera welding electrode being well known and therefore not shown herein.

While I have shownwhat I deem to be the best embodiment of my invention, and

the manner of carrying it into elfect, it will nevertheless be understood that my invention is by no means limited to this specific embodiment. v y v I claim as my invention:

1. In combinatioma stretcher frame having fabric-supporting members of metal, a

finely intermeshed wire fabric having opposed margins reinforced with metal strips and i-nterfolded therewith, and means integrally uniting the fabric, its marginal reinforcement, and the stretcher. frame'with each other, consisting of electrically formed welds extending continuously from stretcher frame to reinforcing strip and through the interposed fabric. I

2. In a woven wire fabric bed bottom, the

combination with a stretcher frame having metal fabric supporting bars, of a woven wire fabric having its opposed margins interfolded with and bound by a metalbinding, and means permanently uniting the fabric to said supporting bars, comprising spot welds formed to extend through the binding and interposed fabric and joining said parts integrally with the surfaces of the respectivesupporting bars.

RICHARD BRADSHAW.

Witnesses:

' J. H. SHERRARD,

. K'. E. STANIFORTH.

five cent: each, by addressing the "OommIuioner of man;

Washington, I). G. 

